The Sands of Samar (), also called the Samar sands or Samar sand dunes, are an expanse of sand dunes in the
Arava region of southern
Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
. Once encompassing an area of seven square kilometers, agricultural development and
sand mining
Sand mining is the extraction of sand, mainly through an open pit (or sand pit) but sometimes mined from beaches and inland dunes or dredged from ocean and river beds. Sand is often used in manufacturing, for example as an abrasive or in conc ...
have reduced the sands to 2.3 square kilometers. In recent years environmentalists and local residents have campaigned to preserve what remains of the dunes.
Background
The Sands of Samar are located near
Kibbutz Samar in southern Israel, 30 kilometers north of
Eilat. Once part of a larger network of dunes, zoning for
date
Date or dates may refer to:
*Date (fruit), the fruit of the date palm (''Phoenix dactylifera'')
Social activity
*Dating, a form of courtship involving social activity, with the aim of assessing a potential partner
** Group dating
*Play date, a ...
groves and other crops, as well as factory pollution and extensive sand mining to support construction projects in Eilat, have vastly reduced the presence of sand dunes in the area. Since Israel's 1994 peace treaty with
Jordan
Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...
, which placed neighboring dunes on the Jordanian side of the border, the Sands of Samar are the last remaining sand dunes on Israel's side of the Arava, constituting a unique and valuable habitat for desert-dwelling organisms. Of the seven square kilometers of dunes that once existed, 2.3 square kilometers remain today.
Formation
The Samar sand dunes were formed over thousands of years as grains of crumbled
Nubian sandstone
The Nubian Sandstone is a variety of sedimentary rock deposited on the Precambrian basement in the eastern Sahara, north-east Africa and Arabian Peninsula. It consists of continental sandstone with thin beds of marine limestones, and marls. T ...
from the
Timna valley
The Timna Valley (תִּמְנָע, ) is located in southern Israel in the southwestern Arava/Arabah, approximately north of the Gulf of Aqaba and the city of Eilat. The area is rich in copper ore and has been mined since the 5th millennium ...
were carried south and east toward the
salt pan of
Yotvata. Over time,
eolian processes shaped the sands into stable dune formations.
Ecology
![Cerbalus aravaensis](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ab/Cerbalus_aravaensis.JPG)
Israeli researchers at the
University of Haifa
The University of Haifa ( he, אוניברסיטת חיפה Arabic: جامعة حيفا) is a university located on Mount Carmel in Haifa, Israel. Founded in 1963, the University of Haifa received full academic accreditation in 1972, becoming ...
, in collaboration with Jordanian academics, discovered evidence indicating that the organisms inhabiting the Sands of Samar have a unique genetic composition.
In 2010, researchers identified a never-before-classified species of
spider
Spiders ( order Araneae) are air-breathing arthropods that have eight legs, chelicerae with fangs generally able to inject venom, and spinnerets that extrude silk. They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species ...
living in the Samar sands – the largest of its kind in the Middle East. Other animals, such as the
Sand cat
The sand cat (''Felis margarita'') is a small wild cat that inhabits sandy and stony deserts far from water sources. With its sandy to light grey fur, it is well camouflaged in a desert environment. Its head-and-body length ranges from with a ...
, that once roamed the dunes have become
extirpated
Local extinction, also known as extirpation, refers to a species (or other taxon) of plant or animal that ceases to exist in a chosen geographic area of study, though it still exists elsewhere. Local extinctions are contrasted with global extinct ...
. According to local residents, predators like wolves, foxes and jackals, which thrive on the easy access to food provided by increased agricultural development, have supplanted more delicate organisms uniquely adapted to extreme environments.
Fauna
* ''
Cerbalus aravaensis''
* ''
Gerbillus gerbillus
The lesser Egyptian gerbil (''Gerbillus gerbillus'') is a small species of rodent in the family Muridae. It is native to North Africa and the Sinai Peninsula, where it lives in sandy habitats. It is a common species, and the International Union ...
''
* ''
Stenodactylus doriae
''Stenodactylus doriae'', commonly known as Doria's comb-fingered gecko and the Middle Eastern short-fingered gecko, is a species of lizard in the family Gekkonidae. The species is native to Western Asia.
Etymology
The specific name, ''doriae ...
''
* ''
Cerastes gasperettii''
* ''
Felis margarita'' (locally extinct)
* ''
Vulpes rueppelli
'' Vulpes '' is a genus of the sub-family Caninae. The members of this genus are colloquially referred to as true foxes, meaning they form a proper clade. The word "fox" occurs in the common names of all species of the genus, but also appears ...
'' (locally extinct)
Flora
* ''
Haloxylon persicum
''Haloxylon persicum'', the white saxaul, is a small tree belonging to the family Amaranthaceae. Its range is Western Asia, including the Palestine region, Egypt, Sinai, South Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Oman, UAE, Afghanistan, and Pakistan, to ...
''
Conservation efforts
In November 2008 the
Israel Union for Environmental Defense
The Israel Union for Environmental Defense ( he, אדם טבע ודין, ''Adam Teva veDin'', lit. ''Man Nature and Law'') is an environmentalist group in Israel.
Tel Aviv islands
In November 2002 the Israeli Government appointed a six-member co ...
petitioned a court in
Beer Sheva to block a new plan submitted by the
Israel Land Administration
The Israel Land Administration (ILA; he, מנהל מקרקעי ישראל, Minhal Mekarka'ei Yisra'el; ar, مديرية أراضي اسرائيل) is an Israeli government authority responsible for managing land in Israel which is in the public d ...
to resume sand mining at Samar. The Union argued that there were feasible alternatives to mining the Sands of Samar and that anyway the available sands would not last for more than five to seven years. After the court determined that there was no legal basis for the Union's claim, an appeal was made to the
Supreme Court. In January 2011 the Supreme Court dismissed the appeal, leaving the sands' fate in the hands of the
Southern District's planning and building council. IUED proposed offering alternative sand mining sites, but the contractor who won the Land Administration's
request for tender
An invitation to tender (ITT, otherwise known as a call for bids or a request for tenders) is a formal, structured procedure for generating competing offers from different potential suppliers or contractors looking to obtain an award of business ...
turned down the suggestion.
In May 2011, the New York-based
Green Zionist Alliance and the Israel-based
Green Movement launched a joint campaign to preserve Samar through a public petition combined with an effort to raise enough money to buy back the development rights to the dunes and preserve the area as a national park. The campaign aims to raise one million shekels (
NIS
Nis, Niš, NiS or NIS may refer to:
Places
* Niš, a city in Serbia
* Nis, Iran, a village
* Ness, Lewis ( gd, Nis, links=no), a village in the Outer Hebrides islands
Businesses and organizations
* Naftna Industrija Srbije, Petroleum Industry o ...
), of which more than 130,000 shekels had been pledged as of September 2011.
In October 2011, environmental organizations and local residents petitioned the Land Administration's newly appointed chairman, imploring him to suspend plans to allow bulldozers onto the dunes.
In January 2012, bulldozers razed one third of the dunes and environmental organizations working to save Samar — led by the Green Zionist Alliance, the Green Movement, the
Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel
Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel ( he, החברה להגנת הטבע, ''HaHevra LeHaganat HaTeva''), or SPNI, is an Israeli non-profit environmental organization working to preserve plants, animals, and natural environments that repr ...
and the
Israel Union for Environmental Defense
The Israel Union for Environmental Defense ( he, אדם טבע ודין, ''Adam Teva veDin'', lit. ''Man Nature and Law'') is an environmentalist group in Israel.
Tel Aviv islands
In November 2002 the Israeli Government appointed a six-member co ...
— successfully saved the remaining two thirds of the Samar sand dunes, which will be preserved by the state as a wilderness and recreation area.
See also
*
Israel–Jordan peace treaty
The Israel–Jordan peace treaty (formally the "Treaty of Peace Between the State of Israel and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan"), he, הסכם השלום בין ישראל לירדן; transliterated: ''Heskem Ha-Shalom beyn Yisra'el Le-Yarden'' ...
References
{{Reflist, colwidth=33em
External links
The Arava Institute for Environmental StudiesSamar Sand Dunes
Environmental issues in Israel